A MEMORIAL TO TIME OFF?

Last weekend we celebrated Memorial Day. A time to honor those who’ve given their lives for the sake of their land and their loved ones.?It’s something we all need to remember - the sacrifices made by others for our safety and the ability to live our lives in pursuit of happiness. So why are Americans so reluctant to take time off?

It’s a national trait. We are hard workers. We are driven. We have things to do and places to be.?It’s an ethos that has been developed over centuries of self-reliance and inspired by the American Dream.

Yet, according to ‘Psychology Today ’ there are some disturbing factors behind why so many of us choose to work during vacation time, long weekends and after hours. ?

In 2011, 90% of workers had some form of employer-paid vacation time, yet only 21% of those ever fully used it. More recent statistics show that more than 50% of workers don’t use all of their vacation time.

The article cites these reasons:

- Too much work to do - time off would increase the workload when they return

- They’re the only ones trained to do their job

- Their employer/supervisor would frown on them taking time off

- They love what they do

- They’d prefer to get paid out for unused vacation days - or roll them over to the next year

Indeed.com has an article with a similar theme where they compare American workers to European workers who do take time off.

In this article, the primary reason cited is fear and the author goes on to say that it’s generally unfounded. People fear that if they’re out of the office and not working, their employer may decide that they’re dispensable. Or a co-worker may muscle them out of a job.?The author goes as far as to say that it’s ‘paranoid’.

They suggest that the opposite might be true. That the employer will wonder why the worker hasn’t delegated? Do they not know how, or do they not trust anyone else to do their job?

Another article in the ‘Washington Post ’ claims that workers who do take time off are going ‘off grid’ either in reality, or are just saying that this is what they’re doing, so as to avoid being contactable by their employer while on vacation. The author questioned why they felt the need to lie and was told that some employers went to great lengths to stay in touch… providing satellite phones, tracking people down via social media, or relatives, or even bartenders, or park rangers!

Wow! I can’t even imagine that!?

Then I read another article from ‘Forbes ’ “This Memorial Day May Be The Time To Change Your Life ” and I quote: "While Monday is officially a day off for most Americans, a majority of people take some personal time—extending it into an abbreviated vacation. The holiday, while meant to celebrate and remember our fallen armed forces heroes, has turned into yet another excuse to shop, barbeque and enjoy some time away from the stress of the office.”

Which indicates that many of us are choosing to take time off work. How we ‘relax’ is, of course, our business, but the author suggests that we need a ‘game plan’ so that we actually do relax as opposed to continuing with our frenetic lives and ending up exhausted after the mini-vacation.?

He also suggests that if we want to be productive over this time off, we could catch up on work, finish languishing projects and commit to some self-improvement to fit us for better things. He then goes on to say that we should also take some time for ‘self-care’ which we know is a hugely popular concept right now.

So my thoughts on the topic are, as usual, influenced by my desire to help people not have their work life become their life’s work.?

I think that there are as many opinions about ‘time off to relax’ vs. ‘Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’. Everyone is entitled to make their own decisions about their life-work balance, or, work-life balance.?The fact remains, however, as pointed out in the ‘Psychology Today’ article, that we all need some time away from what we do on a daily basis - no matter how much we love it - to have a change of pace, a change of scenery and a chance to rejuvenate ourselves.?

Fortunately, there are ways of managing this so that you can have a life, as well as a work life, given the technology available. What this means is that we can arrange our work schedule to allow us to take uninterrupted time by working when it suits us, rather than the traditional ‘9-5’ workday, and still be productive and efficient. In fact, we can be more productive and efficient than ever - without sacrificing our lives.

This is one of the reasons so many people are embracing remote working and are resisting going back to the ‘9-5’ office routine. ?

That, of course, is, as I’ve said before, one of the reasons for the existence of #Optevo. ?

#Vacation #TimeOff #Burnout #Leadership #HybridWork #RemoteWork #Optevo #CWM #business #technology #innovation #FutureOfWork